An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Smith, Cannan, Stigler An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Edited by Edwin Cannan . With a Preface by George J. Stigler . 1,152 pages | Volume I: liv, 524 p.; Volume II: 568 p. | 5-1/4 x 8 | © 1977 Paper $22.50 ISBN: 9780226763743 Published February 1977 E-book $10.00 to $22.50 About E-books ISBN: 9780226763750 Published July 2008 Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations was recognized as a landmark of human thought upon its publication in 1776. As the first scientific argument for the principles of political economy, it is the point of departure for all subsequent economic thought. Smith's theories of capital accumulation, growth, and secular change, among others, continue to be influential in modern economics.

This reprint of Edwin Cannan's definitive 1904 edition of The Wealth of Nations includes Cannan's famous introduction, notes, and a full index, as well as a new preface written especially for this edition by the distinguished economist George J. Stigler. Mr. Stigler's preface will be of value for anyone wishing to see the contemporary relevance of Adam Smith's thought. Table of Contents Preface, 1976, by George J. Stigler Preface Introduction and Plan of the work Book 1 Of the Causes of Improvement in the productive Powers of Labour, and of the Order according to which its Produce is naturally distributed among the different Ranks of the People 1. Of the Division of Labour 2. Of the Principle which gives Occasion to the Division of Labour 3. That the Division of Labour is Limited by the Extent of the Market 4. Of the Origin and Use of Money 5. Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of their Price in Labour, and their Price in Money 6. Of the Component Parts of the Price of Commodities 7. Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities 8.

Of the Wages of Labour 9. Of the Profits of Stock 10. Of Wages and Profit in the Different Employments of Labour and Stock Part I - Inequalities arising from the Nature of the Employments themselves Part II - Inequalities occasioned by the Policy of Europe 11.

Of the Rent of Land Part I - Of the Produce of Land which always affords Rent Part II - Of the Produce of Land which sometimes does, and sometimes does not afford Rent Part III - Of the Variations in the Proportion between the respective Values of that Sort of Produce which always affords Rent, and of that which sometimes does and sometimes does not afford Rent Digression concerning the Variations in the Value of Silver during the Course of the Four last Centuries: First Period, 1350-1570 Second Period, 1570-1640 Variations in the Proportion between the respective Values of Gold and Silver Grounds of the Suspicion that the Value of Silver still continues to decrease Different Effects of the Progress of Improvement upon three different Sorts of rude Produce First Sort Conclusion of the Digression concerning the Variations in the Value of Silver Effects of the Progress of Improvement upon the real Price of Manufactures Conclusion of the Chapter Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock Introduction 1. Of the Division of Stock 2. Of Money Considered as a particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society, or of the Expence of Maintaining the National Capital 3.

Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour 4. Of Stock Lent at Interest 5. Of the Different Employment of Capitals Book III Of the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations 1. Of the Natural Progress of Opulence 2. Of the Discouragement of Agriculture in the Ancient State of Europe after the Fall of the Roman Empire 3. Of the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns, after the Fall of the Roman Empire 4. How the Commerce of the Towns Contributed to the Improvement of the Country Book IV Of Systems of Political Economy Introduction 1. Of the Principle of the Commercial or Mercantile System 2. Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of such Goods as can be Produced at Home 3.

Of the extraordinary Restraints upon the Importation of Goods of almost all Kinds, from those Countries with which the Balance is supposed to be Disadvantageous Part I - Of the Unreasonableness of those Restraints even upon the Principles of the Commercial System Digression concerning Banks of Deposit, particularly concerning that of Amsterdam Part II - Of the Unreasonableness of those extraordinary Restraints upon other Principles Volume Two Digression concerning the Corn Trade and Corn Laws 6. Of Treaties of Commerce 7. Of Colonies Part I - Of the Motives for establishing new Colonies Part II - Causes of the Prosperity of new Colonies Part III - Of the Advantages which Europe has derived from the Discovery of America, and from that of a Passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope 8. Conclusion of the Mercantile System 9. Of the Agricultural Systems, or of those Systems of Political (Economy, which Represent the Produce of Land as either the Sole or the Principal Source of the Revenue and Wealth of Every Country Book V Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth 1.

Of the Expences of the Sovreign or Commonwealth Part I - Of the Expence of Defence Part II - Of the Expence of Justice Part III - Of the Expence of public Works and public Institutions Article 1st - Of the public Works and Institutions for facilitating the Commerce of the Society 1st, For facilitating the general Commerce of the Society 2dly, For facilitating particular Branches of Commerce Article 2d - Of the Expence of the Institutions for the Education of Youth Article 3d - Of the Expence of the Institutions for the Instruction of People of All Ages Part IV - Of the Expence of supporting the Dignity of the Sovereign Conclusion of the Chapter 2. Of the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society Part I - Of the Funds or Sources of Revenue which may peculiarly belong to the Sovereign or Commonwealth Part II - Of Taxes Article 1st - Taxes upon Rent.

Taxes upon the Rent of Land Taxes which are proportioned, not to the Rent, but to the Produce of Land Taxes upon the Rent of Houses Article 2d - Taxes upon Profit, or upon the Revenue arising from Stock Taxes upon the Profit of particular Employments Appendix to Articles 1st and 2d - Taxes upon the capital Value of Lands, Houses, and Stock Article 3d - Taxes upon the Wages of Labour Article 4th - Taxes which, it is intended, should fall indifferently upon every different Species of Revenue Capitation Taxes Adam Smith - Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations | Bauman Rare Books Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Adam SMITH Item#: 86406 We're sorry, this item has been sold “THE FIRST AND GREATEST CLASSIC OF MODERN ECONOMIC THOUGHT”: 1776 FIRST EDITION OF ADAM SMITH’S WEALTH OF NATIONS, THE LANDMARK MANIFESTO ON THE INDIVIDUAL’S RIGHT TO FREE ENTERPRISE SMITH, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London: W. Strahan; and T.

Cadell, 1776. Two volumes. Large quarto, contemporary full tree calf sympathetically rebacked, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, red and brown morocco spine labels, marbled endpapers. First edition of Smith’s masterpiece, the most important work in modern economic thought, in beautiful contemporary full tree calf-gilt boards. “Wealth of Nations, after more than 12 years of preparation, finally came out in 1776… the historical importance of the Wealth of Nations is surpassed by no other economic book… Smith, for the first time, put together the body of economic knowledge that can still be recognized as an early form of what today may be called mainstream economics… There is little in Jean-Baptiste Say, Robert Malthus, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill that is not, more or less directly, an elaboration of Adam Smith” (Niehans, A History of Economic Theory, 62-72).

“Where the political aspects of human rights had taken two centuries to explore, Smith’s achievement was to bring the study of economic aspects to the same point in a single work… The certainty of its criticism and its grasp of human nature have made it the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought” (PMM 221). Buckle’s History of Civilization calls the Wealth of Nations “probably the most important book which has ever been written, whether we consider the amount of original thought which it contains, or its practical influence,” while English political economist J. A. R. Mariott claimed that “there is probably no single work in the language which has in its day exercised an influence so profound alike upon scientific economic thought and upon administrative action. There is every reason why it should exercise it still.” Smith’s work was important to the crisis evolving in the American colonies, and later, to the development of the new nation. Smith’s treatise touches on the situation in America at some length, and it has been surmised that “publication was timed to seize Parliament’s attention, and influence members to support a peaceful resolution of the American conflict.

America offered a major point of application for free-market theory, and if Smith could win supporters, there was some hope of ending the cycle of violence induced by efforts to preserve the old colonial system involving economic restraints and prohibitions” (Alan Simpson Ross). “Both Smith and American statesmen were trying to devise social systems in accord with the spirit of natural law. They believed that the principles of social organization conducive to harmonious relations among men and between men and their government are inherent in and may be deduced form the natural forces that motivate men’s behavior. The Declaration of Independence refers to ‘the laws of nature.’ Smith believed that man’s ‘disposition to truck, barter and exchange’ would, given a policy of laissez faire, cause the self-interest of the individual to promote the larger interests of society” (Robert Hetzel). In fact, Smith showed uncanny prescience when he wrote in Wealth of Nations: “They are weak who flatter themselves that, in the state to which things have come, our colonies will be easily conquered by force alone. The persons who now govern the resolutions of what they call their continental congress, feel in themselves at this moment a degree of importance which, perhaps the greatest subjects in Europe scarce feel.

From shopkeepers, tradesmen, and attornies, they are become statesmen and legislators, and are employed in contriving a new form of government for an extensive empire, which they flatter themselves, will become, and which, indeed, seems very likely to become, one of the greatest and most formidable that ever was in the world.” Smith’s influence may indeed have been greatest in the fledgling United States. “Smith never visited America, but his writings were read by many of the country’s founding fathers, including Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and Jay. Though these men were familiar with Smith’s theories, he was not given many citations in their own writings… However, many of Smith’s ideas were right for America, and they were adopted and implemented” (Roy Smith). “Madison read it, and Alexander Hamilton borrowed heavily from it in his Report on Manufactures. There are numerous references to Smith in the letters of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson wrote in 1790 in a letter to Thomas Mann Randolph: ‘in political economy I think Smith’s Wealth of Nations the best book extant” (Hetzel).

“No printing record of the first edition has survived, but it is probable that the press run was either 500 or 750 copies” (Tribe, ed., Critical Bibliography of Adam Smith, 19). Without terminal blank leaf in Volume I; without half title in Volume II (none was ever printed for Volume I); errata on verso of second title page; Cadell’s advertisement on p. 588 of Volume II. PMM 221. Goldsmith 11392. Grolier English 57. Kress 7261. Rothschild 1897. Faint early library blindstamp in margins of first and last few leaves in each volume. Pages exceptionally clean and crisp with only lightest scattered foxing to occasional leaves. A beautiful, wide-margined copy. ask an Expert shipping & guarantee If you are interested in an item from one of our catalogues or our website and would like more information before ordering it, please give us a call; one of our salespeople will be happy to speak with you and answer any questions that you might have. For some items, we can also email digital photographs.

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Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of their Price in Labour, and their Price in Money I.6. Of the Component Parts of the Price of Commodities I.7. Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities I.8. Of the Wages of Labour I.9. Of the Profits of Stock I.10. Of Wages and Profit in the Different Employments of Labour and Stock I.11. Of the Rent of Land Tables for I.11. Book II: Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock II. Introduction II.1. Of the Division of Stock II.2. Of Money Considered as a particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society... II.3. Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour II.4. Of Stock Lent at Interest II.5. Of the Different Employment of Capitals Book III: Of the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations III.1. Of the Natural Progress of Opulence III.2. Of the Discouragement of Agriculture in the Ancient State of Europe after the Fall of the Roman Empire III.3.

Of the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns, after the Fall of the Roman Empire III.4. How the Commerce of the Towns Contributed to the Improvement of the Country Book IV: Of Systems of political Œconomy IV. Introduction IV.1. Of the Principle of the Commercial or Mercantile System IV.2. Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of such Goods as can be Produced at Home IV.3. Of the extraordinary Restraints upon the Importation of Goods of almost all Kinds, from those Countries with which the Balance is supposed to be Disadvantageous Volume II Wealth of Nations Adam Smith First Edition 1776 Rare Book Item Number: 5760 London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1776. First edition of the economist’s magnum opus and cornerstone of economic thought. Quarto, 2 volumes. Bound in full brown calf, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, red morocco spine labels. In near fine condition. Remarkably clean throughout with some light toning to the title page of volume one and small stamp on the half title page of volume II. An exceptional example of this landmark work.

Adam Smith's masterpiece, first published in 1776, is the foundation of modern economic thought and remains the single most important account of the rise of, and the principles behind, modern capitalism. "The history of economic theory up to the end of the nineteenth century consists of two parts: the mercantilist phase which was based not so much on a doctrine as on a system of practice which grew out of social conditions; and the second phase which saw the development of the theory that the individual had the right to be unimpeded in the exercise of economic activity. While it cannot be said that Smith invented the latter theory...his work is the first major expression of it. He begins with the thought that labour is the source from which a nation derives what is necessary to it. The improvement of the division of labour is the measure of productivity and in it lies the human propensity to barter and exchange...Labour represents the three essential elements-wages, profit and rent-and these three also constitute income. From the working of the economy, Smith passes to its matter -'stock'- which encompasses all that man owns either for his own consumption or for the return which it brings him.

The Wealth of Nations ends with a history of economic development, a definitive onslaught on the mercantile system, and some prophetic speculations on the limits of economic control...The Wealth of Nations is not a system, but as a provisional analysis it is complete convincing. The certainty of its criticism and its grasp of human nature have made it the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought" (PMM). Add to cart Adam Smith - Biography and Life Works The Life and Works of Adam Smith - A Biography of Adam Smith The Life and Works of Adam Smith - A Biography of Adam Smith Scottish political economist Adam Smith (1723 - 1790). Original Artwork: Drawing by J Jacks and engraved by C Picart from a model by Tassie. Hulton Archive / Stringer/ Hulton Archive/ Getty Images By Hannah Rasmussen Adam Smith - His Life Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy Scotland in 1723. When he was 17 years old he went to Oxford and in 1951 he became a professor of Logic at Glasgow. The next year he took the Chair of Moral Philosophy. In 1759, he published his Theory of Moral Sentiments.

It 1776 he published his masterpiece: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. After living in both France and London Adam Smith returned to Scotland in 1778 when he was appointed commissioner of customs for Edinburgh. Adam Smith died on July 17th, 1790 in Edinburgh. He was buried in the Canongate churchyard. Adam Smith - His Work Adam Smith is often described as the "founding father of economics". A great deal of what is now considered standard theory about the theory about markets was developed by Adam Smith. Two books, Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations are of great importance. Adam Smith - Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) In Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smith developed the foundation for a general system of morals. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge It is a very important text in the history of moral and political thought. It provides the ethical, philosophical, psychological and methodological underpinnings to Smith's later works. In Theory of Moral Sentiment Smith states that man as self-interested and self-commanded.

Individual freedom, according to Smith, is rooted in self reliance, the ability of an individual to pursue his self-interest while commanding himself based on the principles of natural law. Adam Smith - An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) The Wealth of Nations is a five book series and considered to be the first modern work in the field of economics. Using very detailed examples Adam Smith attempted to reveal the nature and cause of a nation's prosperity. Through his examination he developed a critique of the economic system. Most commonly known are Smith's critique of mercantilism and his concept of the Invisible Hand. Adam Smith's arguments are still used and cited today in debates. Not everyone agrees with Smith's ideas. Many see Smith as an advocate of ruthless individualism. Regardless of how Smith's ideas are viewed An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is considered to be and is arguably the most important book on the subject ever published. Without a doubt, it is the most seminal text in the field of free-market capitalism . Adam Smith - Online Library of Liberty Online Library of Liberty A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

Search this author’s works: 1723 - 1790 The Classical School of Political Economy Adam Smith (1723-1790) is commonly regarded as the first modern economist with the publication in 1776 of The Wealth of Nations. He wrote in a wide range of disciplines: moral philosophy, jurisprudence, rhetoric and literature, and the history of science. He was one of the leading figures in the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith also studied the social forces giving rise to competition, trade, and markets. While professor of logic, and later professor of moral philosophy at Glasgow University, he also had the opportunity to travel to France, where he met François Quesnay and the physiocrats; he had friends in business and the government, and drew broadly on his observations of life as well as careful statistical work summarizing his findings in tabular form. He is viewed as the founder of modern economic thought, and his work inspires economists to this day. The economic phrase for which he is most famous, the “invisible hand” of economic incentives, was only one of his many contributions to the modern-day teaching of economics. [The image comes from “The Warren J.

Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University.”] Glasgow Edition It is with regret that we announce that, as of February 14, 2014, we are no longer able to host the Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith on the OLL website, as Oxford University Press will no longer grant us the electronic rights to do so. This edition of Smith was one of the first new titles we added to the OLL website after it went live to the public in March 2004 and it has been an important part of our collection ever since. Over the coming months we plan to replace as much as we can with other editions of his works. For additional information about Adam Smith see the following: Smith: Wealth of Nations, Preface and Introduction | Library of Economics and Liberty Editor's Introduction, by Edwin Cannan Volume I Introduction and Plan of the Work Book I: Of the Causes of Improvement... I.1. Of the Division of Labor I.2. Of the Principle which gives Occasion to the Division of Labour I.3. That the Division of Labour is Limited by the Extent of the Market I.4. Of the Origin and Use of Money I.5.

Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of their Price in Labour, and their Price in Money I.6. Of the Component Parts of the Price of Commodities I.7. Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities I.8. Of the Wages of Labour I.9. Of the Profits of Stock I.10. Of Wages and Profit in the Different Employments of Labour and Stock I.11. Of the Rent of Land Tables for I.11. Book II: Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock II. Introduction II.1. Of the Division of Stock II.2. Of Money Considered as a particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society... II.3. Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour II.4. Of Stock Lent at Interest II.5. Of the Different Employment of Capitals Book III: Of the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations III.1. Of the Natural Progress of Opulence III.2. Of the Discouragement of Agriculture in the Ancient State of Europe after the Fall of the Roman Empire III.3.

Of the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns, after the Fall of the Roman Empire III.4. How the Commerce of the Towns Contributed to the Improvement of the Country Book IV: Of Systems of political Œconomy IV. Introduction IV.1. Of the Principle of the Commercial or Mercantile System IV.2. Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of such Goods as can be Produced at Home IV.3. Of the extraordinary Restraints upon the Importation of Goods of almost all Kinds, from those Countries with which the Balance is supposed to be Disadvantageous Volume II Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations | Raptis Rare Books Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations “First and greatest classic of modern economic thought”: First Edition of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations American economist and historian Robert L. Heilbroner writes about Adam Smith’s influence on capitalism: Adam Smith’s enormous authority resides, in the end, in the same property that we discover in Marx: not in any ideology, but in an effort to see the bottom of things.

Scottish economist and moral philosopher, Adam Smith, published his five-part publication, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, later referred to as simply, The Wealth of Nations, during the Scottish Enlightenment in 1776. The work was a result of seventeen years of notes and observations taken from conversations among economists about economical and societal conditions during the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This is outlined in the book of bibliographical reference, Printing and the Mind of Man: The history of economic theory up to the end of the nineteenth century consists of two parts: the mercantilist phase which was based not so much on a doctrine as on a system of practice which grew out of social conditions; and the second phase which saw the development of the theory that the individual had the right to be unimpeded in the exercise of economic activity. While it cannot be said that Smith invented the latter theory…his work is the first major expression of it. It took Smith ten years to produce An Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations .

His commentary during such an incremental time, the first years of the Industrial Revolution, sought to reform outdated theories of mercantilist and physiocratic economic thought with broader concepts we’re all familiar with today, such as the division of labour, productivity, and free markets. An Early Edition of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations He begins with the thought that labour is the source from which a nation derives what is necessary to it. The improvement of the division of labour is the measure of productivity and in it lies the human propensity to barter and exchange…Labour represents the three essential elements-wages, profit and rent-and these three also constitute income. From the working of the economy, Smith passes to its matter-‘stock’-which compasses all that man owns either for his own consumption or for the return which it brings him. Bound in period style full brown calf, with elaborately gilt-decorated spines, the 1776 publication of An Inquiry into The Wealth of Nations was the first of only five editions that were published in Adam Smith’s lifetime.

Said to be the birth of what we now know to be modern economic thought, the book has greatly influenced economists and philosophers of his time and those that followed, including Jean-Baptiste Say, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Malthus, and Ludwig von Misis. Rare, First Edition of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations The Wealth of Nations ends with a history of economic development, a definitive onslaught on the mercantile system, and some prophetic speculations on the limits of economic control…The Wealth of Nations is not a system, but as a provisional analysis it is complete convincing. The certainty of its criticism and its grasp of human nature have made it the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought. Today, An Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations is said to have been as influential in the shift of the field of economics as Isaac Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy was to the field of physics or Charles Darwin ’s On the Origin of Species was to the field of biology.

Question: Complete the full title of the 1776 publication by the economist Adam Smith An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of ______________________.
Answer: THE WEALTH OF NATIONS